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France v Argentina (2018 World Cup)
| next = }} France v Argentina was a match which took place at Kazan Arena on Saturday 30 June 2018. Preview and teams's preparation France coach Didier Deschamps will be without Manchester City's Benjamin Mendy because of a muscle injury. Lucas Hernandez should be available and Deschamps is expected to recall the players he rested against Denmark. Nabil Fekir is pushing for a start after impressive cameos off the bench so far, while right-back Djibril Sidibe may play instead of Benjamin Pavard. Argentina have no new injury concerns and could stick with the same side that began the 2-1 win against Nigeria. Midfielder Enzo Perez has a slight thigh problem but should be fit enough to start. This will be Argentina's 15th game under coach Jorge Sampaoli and it could be the first time he has named an unchanged side. Two footballing heavyweights who haven't even come close to finding their best form so far face off in Kazan knowing they are going to have to seriously up their game if they are to win one of the most open World Cups in years. Argentina's nerves were jangling before they somehow sneaked through a tumultuous group stage thanks to a rare and priceless goal from defender Marcos Rojo in the 86th minute against Nigeria. "It was win or die," said Gonzalo Higuain, while Lionel Messi admitted he "could not remember such suffering before." The French, on the other hand, fielded their youngest team in a World Cup game since 1930 in their opening match against Australia. But despite their youthful exuberance they have underwhelmed. Their passage to the last 16 may have been as serene as Argentina's was fraught, but coach Didier Deschamps still can't seem to get the best out of the fabulous array of attacking talent at his disposal. Head to head This will be the first time these sides have met in the knockout stage of a World Cup. France and Argentina will be facing each other for the 12th time. The South Americans hold the upper hand with six wins to two, keeping a clean sheet in eight of their previous 11 encounters. They have only played twice in the last 32 years, in friendlies in 2007 and 2009, which were won by Argentina (1-0 and 2-0 respectively). The fixture is the first between two previous world champions at this World Cup. Match Kylian Mbappe announced himself on football's biggest stage with two fine goals that gave France victory in a classic World Cup encounter with Argentina, and a place in the quarter-finals. Though much of the focus before the game was on Argentina superstar Lionel Messi, it was Mbappe who produced a brilliant performance that will linger long in the memory. The 19-year-old's second-half double turned the game decisively in France's favour, and inflicted more pain on Argentina in what may be their final chance to win the World Cup during Messi's prime. Antoine Griezmann had already hit the bar with a free-kick by the time he put France ahead from the penalty spot in the ninth minute, following a searing Mbappe run that was ended by a clumsy Marcos Rojo foul. Argentina looked unable to reply for much of the first half, until Angel di Maria hauled his side level with a stunning long-range curler shortly before the break. Thousands of raucous South American supporters were sent into raptures when Gabriel Mercado diverted a Messi shot past Hugo Lloris to give Jorge Sampaoli's side the lead. But Benjamin Pavard's stunning strike levelled the scores, and 11 minutes later Mbappe had scored twice - two clinical finishes that ensured the 2014 beaten finalists would be going home at the last 16. For the first he swept body and ball into space before driving past Franco Armani to score, while the second was swept in crisply at the end of a counter-attack as Argentina chased another leveller. Substitute Sergio Aguero did get a late consolation - a low header from a pin-point Messi cross in the 93rd minute. But this defeat will raise many questions, including about Messi's international future, and that of manager Sampaoli. Despite their obvious attacking talent, there were still plenty of questions around this France team after a group phase during which they never really hit their stride. Les Bleus qualified comfortably as Group C winners but laboured to a win over Australia, beat Peru unconvincingly then played out a dire draw with Denmark, the only 0-0 of the tournament so far. They must have just been waiting for the knockout stage to start, because here we finally witnessed the kind of blistering display many expected sooner, with Mbappe the embodiment. His run for the penalty was sensational, pure athleticism coupled with bravery and belief as he drove past defender after defender; all Rojo could do was haul him down. His two goals were not bad either. Responding to concerns about his team's style, manager Didier Deschamps had made the point that under his watch tournament progress is only building in momentum. In 2014 there was the World Cup quarter-final loss to winners Germany, then the Euro 2016 final defeat by Portugal in extra time. And the Portuguese could be next for a team looking very dangerous indeed. Details Pavard Mbappé |goals2 = Di María Mercado Agüero |stadium = Kazan Arena, Kazan |attendance = 42,873 |referee = Alireza Faghani (Iran) }} |valign="top"| |valign="top" width="50%"| |} Match Stats Match Stats= {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |- !width=130|Overall !width=70|France !width=70|Argentina |- !scope=row|Goals scored |4||3 |- !scope=row|Total shots |9||10 |- !scope=row|Shots on target |4||4 |- !scope=row|Ball possession |40%||60% |- !scope=row|Corner kicks |0||4 |- !scope=row|Fouls committed |21||15 |-| See also *2018 FIFA World Cup :*2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage External links *Match report at BBC.co.uk Category:2018 FIFA World Cup Matches